Dear Holding Out... Why are you so sexy?
-Skinny little bro
Dear Skinny Little Bro,
I want to congratulate you on taking over my old moniker, Skinny Lil Bro. As some of you may know, the powers that be forced me to give up the name after I compromised the integrity of that holy name by putting on about 20 pounds this winter. My lanky 6’3” frame used to weigh in at a slightly starved 145lbs. when I was in college. I was up to about 155lbs last summer until I caught the swine flu and then went back to around 150lbs or so. Last week I weighed in at a healthy, yes that’s right healthy, normal even, 175lbs! College buddies are marveling at the fact that I finally outweigh them, which shouldn’t be that surprising as I’ve got about 3 or 4 inches on them all.
That being said, the reason I personally am so sexy is that you can finally gaze upon my bare torso without counting all my ribs. There are a few parts of me that can be “jiggled” as it where. It’s amazing and a whole new feeling for me to feel like I can’t slouch as much as I used to because my belly lodges between my ribcage and my belt.
All that to say that the reason we are simply irresistible is hidden within the complicated and mysterious lyrics of the very song you reference with your nickname.
God made me a skinny little bro and to tell you the truth I don’t know what fo. There is one thing I know fo sho. It don’t matter, it don’t matter.
We are sexy because the good Lord made us that way.
Go in peace, young bro.
Kelly
Dear Scott, I first of all want you to know that in the next paragraph, I am NOT hitting on your wife. That would be un-cool and that is not what I am about. That being said...
Dear Jen, I would like to say that you are absolutely beautiful. Like, Scott is really lucky. So that begs the question, why are you in a band instead of some modeling career that (sorry guys, but I'm just being truthfull) you could get paid a lot more for than being in a local band (but that's not to say that Holding Out is not a good band. Holding out is def a sweet band and I'm not trying to convince you to drop the band to go to a modeling career because then we would lose one of the greatest drummers of ALL TIME!!!)?
Well, thanks for your time!
-Coffee Drinker
Dear Coffee Drinker,
What a wonderful thing for you to say. Everyone should take note: if you want to brighten a girls' day, say stuff like that. And to answer your question, I'm not a model for three reasons. Firstly, I never know what to do in photo shoots. I have been in a few since joining the band (for promo photos and whatnot) and it's always really awkward for me. As far as that goes, Kelly is the one who is the model rock star in photo shoots. He could come up with stuff to do in front of a camera for hours! Anyway, back to what I was saying. Second, there are certain physical "assets" a model must have that I just was not blessed with. Oh well. Thirdly, and most importantly, I think being a chick drummer is WAY cooler than being a model, and I love doing it. I mean, I gotta help represent the chick drummer community.
Thanks again for your wonderful compliment!
~Jen
Bonjour Holding Out!!! First of all, I would like to know if any of you guys(and girl...) speaks French? Si vous parlez, VOUS ETES FANTASTIQUE!!! Je l'adore!!!!!
But, on a different note. I used to come to this site all the time. I pride my self (or maybe pity myself) in the fact that I have read every single question and answer on this page. there is definitely some funny stuff on here. I love it. My problem is that I read them all at least 5 months ago and submitted a couple of questions... that have never been answered. As a matter of FACT, there are no new Q&A's on here. So, I will be checking in periodically to see what I can see.
Urrr's 4evrrr,
Slightly. Slightly Disappointed.
Slighty Disappointed,
I’m ashamed of myself that you submitted questions that weren’t answered. I must admit that there was a period of a few months (might have even stretched out to a whole year) that I did not do a good job of responding to questions. I think the novelty of the Q&A site wore off a little for both the readers and me. The questions were fewer and further between and eventually it seemed to have dried up. I didn’t check the site as much, one day I just woke up and realized I couldn’t remember the last time I’d checked the Q&A folder. Sad thing is I think there were only 3 or 4 in there and two of them were sarcastic questions from a band that was unhappy with how well we were promoting an upcoming show with them. That’s another story…
So that being said, I’m not going to wallow in self-loathing here because I think I’m a pretty good dude who just gets a little forgetful now and then. I will now attempt to rekindle your love for Holding Out by answering this question almost immediately!
I do not speak French. I learned a little German in college so I could study abroad in Austria. (Not the land down under but a small but proud country near Germany) I know Scott studied abroad in Ireland so he definitely learned to speak fluent Irish to study there. Jen only speaks English, Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Italian, Norwegian, and Pig Latin as far as I know. Oh yeah, and Hebrew but not French. I’m not sure what it is we have against France and the language of French but there must be something there. I mean, look at how multi-lingual we are but somehow we all avoided French!
I did sing in French in college a few times while studying opera and other classical music. I have to say that it was my least favorite language to sing in as I had the most trouble pronouncing it compared to German, Italian, Latin, and of course English.
That being said, I’ll admit that I did have to use a French dictionary to decipher what the second part of your opening statement there was. If I’m not mistaken, which I rarely am, it roughly translates to:
“Holding Out is the best band in the world”
I hope this answer finds you well and less disappointed. We love you and appreciate you for visiting the website and being a super fan! We’ll do our best to uphold our end of the deal here.
Love,
Kelly
PS – One thing I do love about French is Nicolas Batum. GO BLAZERS!!!
Howdy Holding Out! So I was wondering... Why dont you guys put out a christmas album? It would be awesome! I'd buy it :)
Holding Out for a white christmas :)
Well howdy yourself!
So, my first thought when I read this question is that it was almost certainly submitted by my mother. My mom LOVES Christmas songs. But then I did a little detective work and discovered that this person who wrote this question is definitely from Texas and therefore cannot be my mother. Let me explain.
One sad day I was helping my good friend Dave shove all of his earthly belongings into a U-Haul box of some sort so he could then move away across this blessed country. As I was carrying some of his precious cargo (golf clubs maybe?) I passed a man and his young daughter and as I did I nodded my head and said, “Howdy.”
This is not the way I greet strangers all the time but I’ve been known to bust out the howdy every once in a while. My good friend Ashley was walking behind me at the time and told me later that after I said, “Howdy” to the man and his daughter, the young girl turned to her father and said, “Daddy, that man is from Texas!”
“How do you know that?” he asked her.
“He said, ‘Howdy’. That’s what people from Texas say.” She replied with all the confidence in the world.
As it turns out, I’m not from Texas but I’m pretty sure that little girl is right about that 99% of the time so this person is definitely from Texas.
And that’s why Holding Out will never put out a Christmas Album. Although, I never say never so, yeah. And I do like that Album title.
Seasons Greetings,
Kelly
Band,
If you guys make it big, will you still come to play at Arrah Wanna?
Arrah Wanna Staff
Okay, first of all, did you just say IF we make it big? IF??? Wow, I expected more from you, Arrah Wanna Staff. I don’t know who’s proofreading your submissions but they are not doing a good job.
I think you mean WHEN we make it big. Note that I say “when” with confidence because “make it big” is a relative term that is open to interpretation. It’s not because I’m a total jack-donkey although, let’s be honest, sometimes I totally am.
Now, I would like to get to the meat and taters of the question. When our band name officially changes from Holding Out to Sold Out it is very unlikely that we will ever play at Camp Arrah Wanna. We will definitely become arrogant jerks and totally forget where we came from. It’s likely that I will even refuse to return phone calls to my own mother. (don’t freak out mom, I’m kidding) Arrah Wanna will simply become a footnote on our epic buttcheeks.
However, eventually the tides of time will wash away the beaches of success and our name will turn from Sold Out into Washed Up. This is when we will come crawling back to our roots and try to pretend that we never left them. Arrah Wanna will cluck its tongue over folded arms and exclaim, “Where have you been?” or “My how the tables have turned!”
So, the moral of this story is don’t be bummed out when we get super famous and forget all your names. Everything will come full circle.
The real question here is whether you’ll forgive us and take us back… Do the right thing.
Love,
Kelly
What is the most amazing t-shirt you have seen for your band? Oh, and it has to have been made by a fan, not by the band... also... a friend of mine wants to know if any one of you likes Barney and why?
-AL
AL-
So, I’m not sure why you felt you had to clarify that the t-shirt had to be made by a fan and not the band. I mean, obviously, there’s no way that I would spend any of my own valuable free time making t-shirts for my own band. As if I would have a dresser drawer devoted to shirts that bear the likeness of my face scrawled in Sharpie marker. Seriously! It would be utterly ridiculous for me to have a portion of my closet devoted to t-shirts that exclaim: “I wanna have your babies, Holding Out!” in various colors of puffy paint. Ha! Preposterous!
…
Moving on…
Easily, the best “created by fans” t-shirt was actually a pair of ladies who decided to wear matching home made t-shirts that read:
“I’m in love with Kelly Bechtell”
Yeah, that was awesome. Well, I really liked those ones anyway. I suppose if I looked at it from the Band’s perspective I’d have to say the following.
The best fan-made t-shirt that I’ve seen at a Holding Out concert was worn by a fan of ours that we met at Camp Arrah Wanna. This young man is short in stature but stout of heart. A very courageous young Minnesota Vikings fan if I remember correctly. Anyway, this pretty much full grown fella is probably (forgive me if I’m way off here, I’m terrible at estimating heights of humans) about 5 feet tall and he wore a t-shirt to one of our concerts that read:
“HOLDING OUT’S BIGGEST FAN!!!”
And well, it was true!
Cheers to our biggest fans!
Oh, and to address part 2 of that question, I’m curious as to why your friend wasn’t brave enough to send in his/her own question. Don’t be scared, friend of Al, it’s easy!
So anyway… Barney. When I was in elementary school it was very cool to make jokes that made fun of this loveable purple dino. We all sang parodies of his hit songs that made reference to refuse, bodily functions, and even murder I think. Looking back, I think we were too hard on him. I mean really, all he wanted to do was give and receive love. And deep down, isn’t that what we all really want? I got no beef with Barney. In fact, if he were here right now, I’d give him a big hug. From me to him.
Welcome back to Q&A with Holding Out. I’m sorry for the lengthy break between answers. I’m gonna try and get back on the horse now. However! Only the best questions will be answered! So choose your question wisely, if you want to make the cut!
Peace,
Kelly
Holding Out,
I have always wanted to be in a band. Not necessarily a famous band, but one just well known enough to sell a few cd's. Do you have any advice on how I could do this? I was in a band not that long ago but it split because of disagreements. Do you have any advice on how to prevent these from happening as well?
-Malibu Camper
Camper,
Having a band that doesn’t break up is easier said than done! The most important thing is that all the members of the band are on the same page. I believe that for a band to be successful you have to have a mission. You must have a message that you think is so important that it’s worth years of playing tiny gigs and not making any money just to have a chance to “make it big.” Overnight success is a myth, at least for people who don’t start off incredibly well connected. You have to put together a group of people who are committed to years and years of playing music that isn’t as fun as you expected it to be, just to have a shot at being successful. Truth is, at least for us, we’ve needed the last 5 years of anonymity to hone our craft and I still think we have a TON of work to do.
It’s not easy to find people who have the same values and goals as you do but when you find them, they become family and you realize that no matter how many times you get pissed at each other, you’re still family and you still all want the same thing. Scott is my brother and Jen is my sister-in-law. (She would be my sister but she’s married to Scott so it’d be weird if my brother and sister were married to each other) We disagree often, but it never stands in the way of our common goal, which is to reach people with our message of hope and love.
Good luck with starting a band! Keep rockin!
-Kelly
Did you ever play at a school?
-chili cheese guy
Chili Cheese Guy,
Did you invent the Chili Cheese Corndog? I LOVE those things!
Did we ever play at a school? Huh, well, yes. Let’s see, we’ve played at Linfield College, Ecola Bible School, Western Oregon University, University of Washington, and the Linfield Portland Campus. That’s all I can think of off the top of my head.
Keep inventing delicious Chili Cheese Concoctions. Like chili cheese Fritos. Oh, man.
Kelly
Why did you guys get rid of the bald guy? He was the best! I don't think I can come to any more shows. :(
- The Bald Guy
Bald Guy,
What a weird way for you to bring this up. It seems like a pretty personal matter and I don’t know why you would want to hash it out in front of our millions of readers. Well that was an overstatement, hundreds of thousands of readers is a little more accurate.
If you’ll refer to the most recent edition of Holding Out’s esteemed periodical missive, which should be hitting inboxes all over the country any day now, you will get a bit of an inside look at some of the inner conflicts of Holding Out that were caused by The Face (aka you).
Yes, Mr. Best Thing Since Sliced Bread (also you) caused some serious jealousy and rage in his fellow male band-mates because of all the female attention that he stole from them. We thought it would get better when he started wearing a wedding ring but the ladies just looked past it as if it were invisible and the problems persisted.
Scott and I tried to vent this pain and anguish through song but it wasn’t enough and we had to get rid of old Cavid Dramer. (I just made that one up now but yeah, it’s you too) That dog just wouldn’t hunt if you know what I mean.
Sorry pal,
Kelly
Dave,
why do you like ninjas so much?
i mean i really like ninjas too. cause they're like super cool with all the actions, but i don't get why your like obsessed with it.
-EL!D!A
El Dia, it isn't that I like ninjas so much as it is that I have a high self-esteem. For you, you could compare it to just being a regular human being. You like being a human being. In fact, everything that you do is about being a human being. I guess I could ask you why you're so obsessed with being a human? Well El Dorado? Why are you so obsessed with being a person?
And ninjas aren't just super cool! They're shadowy enigmas. They're the kind of creatures that can end your life and then play canasta with your disembodied soul like it was no big deal. They can fight all kind of creatures and escape with nary a scratch! Have you ever fought a Gorgon basilisk Demon and lived to tell the tale? We have. In fact, El Dairy, I'm right behind you as you read this response just waiting for one hint of a bad reaction, because unfortunately, the ninja code prevents me from ending your life simply because I don't like your tone, but an allergic reaction to this post is definitely grounds to dispatch of you.
Thanks for the question! But don't make any sudden movements.
Shadowy Enigma
So, what job did you do before you decided to be a musician?
It turns out that it is very difficult to make enough money working as a musician to actually pay bills. Especially when you have huge student loans to pay off. So, we all currently have two jobs, one being “Professional Musician” and the other one being called, “Job That Pays Bills”.
Before forming Holding Out officially as an entity in June 2006, we were all students at Linfield College. I graduated in 2006 and while everyone was waiting for me to graduate Scott was selling copy machines for Pacific Office Automation, Jen was working in the tax department at Evergreen Aviation, and Dave was living in Eugene working with people suffering from Dementia.
Currently, I work for Portland Parks and Recreation teaching Pre-school, sports classes, guitar lessons, and planning birthday parties. Scott is the worship leader at Milwaukie First Baptist Church. Jen works in the tax department of Hollywood Video and Dave works for Dr. Bott, a company that buys stuff from companies and sells it to other companies for more than what they bought it for. Ha! Dr. Bott? More like Dr. Genius. Dave is also currently looking at law schools.
Well, there you go. We work hard and play hard. Go team.
Kelly
Dear Band,
When you are eventually recognized as the super-heroes that you are, what will the people scream to each of you?
Well this certainly is an odd question. Congratulations on that.
I don’t spend much time if any fighting crime right now because, like you said, the general public hasn’t yet recognized me as a super hero. Once I am recognized, I’ll have to get my rear in gear or people will start to question my moral values and call me lazy.
I can’t have that.
So, to answer your question, I suppose the things that people scream at us would depend on what we happen to be doing at the moment. As much as I would love to spend all my time rocking out and melting minds with our molten lava rock ‘n’ roll, I do feel responsibility as a super hero to spend at least some of my time fighting crime and making the world a safer place to live.
If we were on stage rocking out, I would expect people to scream things like,
“You guys are so cool!”
“Is the drummer taken?!”
“Wow! You rocked my pants right off!”
and, “I want to have your babies…Jen!”
However, if we’re fighting crime, it would probably be more like this:
“Help!”
“Hang upside down and kiss me in the rain!”
“Wow, that guy can stretch out his arms and legs to amazing lengths!”
(in response) “No, dude, he’s just THAT tall and skinny.”
Hope that answers your question.
Kelly
How old are you guys?
Kelly: 23 years 4 months 16 days
Jen: 24 years 3 months 15 days
Dave: 24 years 5 months 23 days
Scott: 25 years 10 months 13 days
Love,
Kelly
Hi Kelly, just wondering.... do you prefer Barney or Scooby Doo? Also, what are your thoughts on Hanna Montana? I am looking forward to hearing your reply!!!
-Milkface
Milkface,
I hope you have a milk mustache. I love mustaches of all kinds.
There are good things about both of these guys. I have to start off by admitting that I have never been an avid watcher of either of these shows.
I’ll tell you what I like about Barney. His theme song is good.
I love you, you love me.
We’re a happy family.
With a great big hug
And a kiss from me to you.
Won’t you say you love me to?
I’m all about love, hugs, and kisses so this song is good and really speaks to me in a special way.
One thing I don’t really like about Barney is that he’s just a little awkward. He’s so big and when the kids go to hug him it’s like they are just getting pats on the back from him cause he can’t bend down and hug them. He’s not mobile enough to live up the lyrics in his song. I believe he really loves those kids and me but come on man, take care of your body so you can hug your kids. Also, there’s a person inside that dinosaur suit and I don’t know anything about them. That’s weird.
Scooby Doo is fun. He solves mysteries and in doing so, helps people out. I am a little partial to Scooby Doo because I happen to look a lot like his pal Shaggy. Some day I’d like to have a pal kinda like Scooby Doo and maybe we could solve some mysteries together. The downside of Scooby Doo is that he is kind of a coward. He gets scared really easily which doesn’t come in handy when trying to solve mysteries that often involve ghosts and ghouls and such. Also, he’s bit hard to understand when he speaks but I guess he’s a dog so I’ll give him a break on that front.
When all is said and done, I gotta go with Scooby.
All I really know about Hanna Montana is that her dad is Billy Ray Cyrus. That is awesome. I loved Achy Breaky Heart back in the day and you’ve got to hand it to Billy cause he sticks to his guns and he’s been around for a long, long time. I watched the show the other day and it’s incredibly cheesy but kids like it so more power to you, Hannah. Do your thing, girl.
Holler!
Kelly
Hi!! I was wondering what nicknames your mom calls you??
-Tanner
Tanner,
My mom calls me Bug pretty much all the time. Another favorite of hers was Little Precious, which lead to a variety of nicknames that were all based on this one name. Such as Little P, Pea, Presh, etc.
My mom worked as a lunch lady at the High School that I attended while I was going there. So, not only did she call me Little Precious at school but all the other lunch ladies called me this as well. I was very popular in school due to my good standing with the lunch ladies. So popular in fact, that my mom actually offered to give a girl a dollar to go talk to me while I was waiting for her to get off work after school one day.
My mom was always one who stood up for her fellow lunch ladys. One of my classmates was telling his buddy that he was going to play a funny trick on one of my mom’s colleagues and so when he got up to the front of the line and went to hand her his money he dropped it on the ground so she had to bend down to pick it up. He and his friends laughed while my mom promptly came over and asked him if HE wanted to see something funny. Before he had a chance to answer she tossed the candy he had just purchased over his head and out into the cafeteria.
That reminds me of another pretty good story. One day my mom overheard some boys talking in line.
“You want to know how you can get free lunch at school?” one boy asked.
“How?” responded the other.
“By having sex with the lunch lady!” answered the first boy.
Then my mom butted in with, “What in the world makes you think that any of us would want to have sex with you?”
This quieted the boys quickly.
Well, there you go. Now you know my mom a little better. Everyone should.
Love,
Kelly
